Read Shadow's Awakening: The Shadow Warder Series, Book One (An Urban Fantasy Romance Series) for Free Online

The electric buzz in the room thickened, crawling on her skin.
    “Clean this mess up,” Glenn barked at the new arrival.
    “What do you want me to do with them?” the figure asked.
    Hannah couldn’t tell which one it was. Not one of the ones she’d hurt. She giggled at the absurdity. Glenn looked down at her and slammed his fist into her jaw again.
    “I don’t give a shit. Drag them downstairs and throw them in the garage. They can come out when they’re healed.”
    “Okay.” She heard heavy dragging sounds and the thump of a head smacking one step after another on the way down.
    “I told you that you wouldn’t like what I’d do if you tried to escape again.” Glenn leaned into Hannah’s raw and bleeding face. “I can’t kill you. That would be a waste. Like spilling fine wine. But I can make you beg for death.”
    Hannah didn’t respond. She imagined spitting in his face, sending a messy glob of blood and saliva right up into his hungry eyes. But she couldn’t seem to get her lips to move. She let her mind drift, absorbing as little of the punishment as she could. The more she let her consciousness float, the harder Glenn’s fists struck. A passive victim wasn’t any fun, but he was too angry to use the finesse necessary to get a response. Hannah allowed herself to sink deeper. She’d known it was a bad plan. But at least she’d tasted fresh air before he caught her. That was something.

    The vibrating phone intruded into Conner’s sleep. He rarely turned on the ringer in case it sounded while he was out hunting. Middle of the night calls weren’t a common occurrence in Conner’s life. It didn’t occur to his sleeping brain that the annoying humming sound might require attention. The humming paused, then restarted. Conner’s eyes popped open as he finally absorbed what he was hearing. He rolled over and reached for the pants he’d thrown over the chair by his bed. Hopefully the phone was in there. It was, vibrating like it wanted to jump from his pocket and smack him in the head. Conner flipped it open and held it to his ear.
    “What?” he growled, his comfortable sleepy haze already receding.
    “Are you awake?” asked a strange male voice.
    Conner’s brain immediately kicked into gear. Sitting up, he turned on the bedside lamp. The room flooded with yellow light.
    “I’m awake,” he said. “Who is this?”
    “You won’t believe me when I tell you,” said the voice.
    “Tell me anyway,” Conner said.
    “I’m an Oracle. A Shadow Oracle.”
    As if that needed to be clarified. Conner wasn’t aware of any kind of Oracle except a Shadow Oracle and they were extremely rare. Shadow Oracles didn’t have anything to do with Warders. They absolutely didn’t call them in the middle of the night on their cell phones.
    “You’re right,” Conner said. “I don’t believe you. How did you get this number? How do you even have a cell phone? I thought Shadows couldn’t use electronics.” There was a short laugh on the other end of the connection.
    “You Warders think you rule the world and you know jack shit about anything. Not all Shadows have problems with electronics, just some of us. And hello? I’m an Oracle. Getting your number was the easy part.” He paused, waiting for another objection. When none was forthcoming, he said “I have a job for you.”
    “This isn’t the protocol,” Conner said. “You’re supposed to call one of the Directorate and tell them the situation. They have a handler assign a Warder. Since when do you call us directly? This is bullshit.”
    A sigh drifted across from the phone. “We’re wasting time, Conner. My name is Zach. I’m a Shadow Oracle from the coast. We have a problem. We need your help. What more do you want?”
    “Proof that you are who you say you are,” Conner said. “Tell me something no one else knows.”
    “I’m not a circus sideshow, asshole.”
    “If you’re not willing to give me any proof, I’m hanging up and this